nmFIRE10:
You might want to give PMI gloves a look before you plunk down your money. They aren't as pretty as Ringer or American, but they are thicker leather and have a little more padding where you need it.And they are cheaper than most other brands. Check em out.
Stay safe.

I have a pair of leather work gloves that I bought at Wal-Mart for about $4.00. Seem to work great for extrication, ground cover fires, rolling hose, etc. I'm not sure that 30-40 dollars for "extrication" gloves is money well spent. If I am involved in firefighting, You will see the NFPA approved structural ff gloves on my hands.

You need to go to the University of Extrication forum and look through the archives to see a pretty involved discussion on this very topic.

I own a pair of Mechanix Wear M-16 gloves and just recently purchased a pair of Mechanix Wear Extrication Gloves. My observation (and the general consensus on the other forum) is that the M-16 are nice because they have Nomex construction. However, they do not appear to be built to withstand heavy abrasive use that extrication demands.

The Extrication glove is made with Kevlar construction which appears to be a viable solution to this problem. Kevlar is the same material that is used in ballistic vests, and it also has fire resistant properties. Therefore, I recommend the Extrication gloves over the M-16 for heavy rescue/extrication work. As a side note, if you order Mechanix gloves, they appear to be sized small. I normally wear a size LARGE glove, but have had to go to an EXTRA-LARGE with the Mechanix.

i`ve had a pair of ringers for about 2 years now and they have held up great. i have not taken it easy on them at all and there is nothing wrong with them . i`d say their well worth the money that my station paid for them.

I recently evaluated extrication gloves for our Department. I used both Ringer's and Shelby extrication gloves for about four months, and liked them both. And after wearing those, I won't go back to leather "utility gloves". The fit and comfort was far better than leather, not to mention the fabric breathes a little, so no more sweaty hands or dye from the leather turning my hands a sickly-jaundiced yellow. The Shelby gloves had a higher Nomex content, but both are excellent gloves for extrication.

I buy about four pairs of tight leather work gloves at a time - total of about $20. Each pair lasts about six months to a year - depending on the work being done. I've never been cut, and I have a better grip on tools, etc. than any extrication gloves that I've tried. Plus, it's less expensive. These are what I suggest. Everyone's different. Try what you like.

One of these days I'll get around to prying my wallet open for a pair of fancy gloves to try.

Till then, I use a slight variation of plain old leather work gloves -- I buy *insulated* leather work gloves.

Partly because I use them around my property year round so that's all I buy. The insulation gives protection from thorn-brush which I cut a ton of it back each year...and the insulation absorbs the vibration from brush-cutters, chainsaws, etc much better than uninsulated gloves.

Yeah, they're warmer but I find there just as dexeterous and more comfortable overall than uninsulated gloves.

And if you want really cheap, I buy the insulated ones for about $5/pair...wait till Spring and the local super-discount job lot (Ocean State) store is selling off all the mfg's overstock from the previous winter!

Just bought a pair of Shelby's and like them very much. Use my old leather ones for racking hose and misc. things. The Shelby's have a good feel tight fit but are a bit stiff when new. Just takes a bit of wearing to break them in. Other's in the Dept. are planning to buy them too.

We went to Ringers a approximately one year ago and the 34 pair that were issued to that division have been holding up quite well without complaints. Definately a big improvement over gloves rated for structure fires.